Frankie and Johnnie

"Frankie and Johnnie" is a film that sat on the shelf for two years. This is a VERY bad sign...and it usually means that the studio has zero faith in the movie.

The plot of the film is much like the song "Frankie and Johnnie". It begins with the bar girl with a heart of gold, Frankie, taking pity and helping poor Johnnie. Over time, they become lovers but Frankie doesn't realize that Johnnie is NOT the nice guy he seems to be...and two-times her with her arch enemy, Nellie...with a tragic and predictable finale.

So is it any good? Not especially. The story is a foregone conclusion...and the melodrama is laid on thick. And, most importantly, it's pretty dull stuff.



By the way, the two leading ladies in this film had amazingly short lives. Helen Morgan (Frankie) died at 41 from Cirrhosis and Nellie (Lilyan Tashman) died from cancer at 37! So sad.